Freed S. Sudan pastors held at Khartoum airport

Pastors Yat Michael and Peter Yen have been stopped (but not re-arrested) at Khartoum airport after trying to leave the country following their release after Wednesday’s (5 Aug.) court hearing in the Sudanese capital.

CSW reports that the appeal for the flight ban will be heard on 9 Aug. The two tried to leave in the early hours of Thursday (8 Aug.) for an unknown destination. The ban dates back to 23 March, and it’s not clear which authority stopped them: the airport police or the National Intelligence and Security Service, which first arrested Michael in Dec. 2014.

The two men had faced charges that could have carried the death penalty. They were found guilty on one count each but judge Ahmed Ghaboush ruled that their eight months in prison up to the verdict had satisfied the sentences for those.